Substitute Sugar 'Empty Calorie' in Your Dieting

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. Although it provides us with energy, it is known as the 'empty calorie' because it has no other nutritional value. You may feel a burst of energy after eating foods high in sugar, but you may also experience a quick come-down.

Sugar has been known to affect mood, although substances like caffeine, artificial colours and preservatives in sweet foods can also contribute to this.

Sugar is not the main reason that people carry excess weight. Too much fat and too little exercise are the main culprits there. Sweet, high-fat foods like chocolate, desserts, cakes and pastries should be limited or avoided altogether. And remember that sugar is sugar, whether it is white, brown, raw, organic or a syrup.

Here is one of our favourite sweet recipes for the occasional treat. We always play with our recipes, experiment and try different things. You'll be surprised what delicious things you come up with.

Yummy Biscuits

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup flour*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallised ginger
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dates
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 125 g butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water (if needed to bind)

*we use spelt, stone-ground wholemeal, or millet — experiment to see what you like.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt the butter with the sugar and stir into the dry ingredients, adding water if necessary to bind. Place tablespoons of mixture on a greased baking tray and press down lightly. Bake in a slow oven (160°C) for about 20-25 minutes, or until brown. Cool on a wire tray.

Healthy Dieting Protein Recipe

Protein Omelette

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• Pinch salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs olive oil to spray

Salad to serve

Blend all ingredients together. Pour into a hot pan that has been sprayed with a small amount of olive oil. Allow mixture to cook through or place under grill to finish cooking on top. Top with whatever filling you want, grill to heat through and then fold in half. Serve with a fresh salad.

Try any of the following toppings: salmon, mixed blanched vegetables and a small amount of Parmesan cheese; mashed kumara (with olive oil and sliced pickled ginger), baby rocket, tomato and feta cheese; tuna, mushrooms, capsicum and Parmesan cheese.

Baked Salmon Loaf

• 2 x 440 g cans of salmon (drained)
• 1/2 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons ground nuts*
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 3 free-range eggs
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon mixed herbs olive oil to spray

Green salad and brown rice to serve

* could be LSA - linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds, or ground pecan nuts or walnuts.

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Spray or brush the inside of a loaf tin with olive oil and fill with mixture. Bake in a moderate oven (around 180°C) for approximately 35-40 minutes. Serve with salad and brown rice.

Fruit Smoothie

• 200 ml milk
• 200 ml water
• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
• 1frozen or fresh banana
• 1 dessertspoon flaxseed oil
• 1/2 cup silken tofu or 2 tablespoons whey powder
• A couple of ice cubes (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

Experiment with all fruits: they taste great and the flaxseed oil helps make the smoothie smooth and creamy as well as providing essential fatty acids.

Note: Blueberries are an excellent antioxidant. They are fantastic in fruit smoothies

Colour Your Plate: Fight Disease and Aging with "Colourful" Food

Eat one serving daily from each of these phyto-nutrient-rich color groups to prevent disease and premature aging:

• Red. Choose apples, beets, cherries, cranberries, kidney or adzuki beans, plums, red bell peppers, radishes, raspberries, red cabbage, red grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, and/or watermelon.
• Orange or yellow. Enjoy apricots, cantaloupe, carrots, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, pineapple, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, yams, and yellow or orange bell peppers.
• Green. Have some asparagus, avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, celery, kale, kiwi, okra, spinach, watercress—virtually any leafy green vegetable.
• Other mixed colors, including white and purple. Add to your diet foods such as cauliflower, celery, eggplant, kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips.

For each of the vegetables and fruits mentioned above, one serving is equivalent to:

• One medium-sized fruit, such as an apple, pear, or orange.
• 1/2 cup raw, cooked, frozen, or canned fruit or vegetable.
• 1 cup raw, leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, or lettuce.
• 3/4 cup 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.
• 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans or peas.
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, such as raisins or dates.

Soy Recipes - Carob Tofu Cheesecake

Everybody loves this dessert! It is delicious and easy to wake.

• 3 cups tofu or 1`/ cups tofu plus 11/2 cups cream cheese
• 1/2 cup liquid fructose or honey
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 to 1 cup carob powder, depending on desired taste and darkness
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup nonfat powdered soymilk or cow's milk (optional; add it if you like a firmer-textured cheesecake)
• crumbled sugar-free cookies or graham crackers to line the pan

1. Blend the tofu, fructose, bananas, carob, and lemon juice together in a food processor at medium speed until smooth. If you like it firmer, add the powdered milk. (The mixture will not be firm until frozen)
2. Lightly oil or butter a 9-inch cake pan. Place 1/2 inch layer of crumbled cookies in the pan. Pour the tofu mixture over the cookies.
3. Put the pan in the freezer until the cake is firm, at least two hours. Take the cake out of the freezer a half-hour before serving.

Variations:

1. Before freezing, top with carob chips and/ or nuts if desired.
2. Before freezing, top with fruit topping made from preserves or cooked-down fruit and honey or fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, or peaches.
3. Blend in 1/2 to 1 cup of preserves in place of carob powder and liquid fructose.

Serving the Nutritious Sprouts

Sprouts can be cooked or served raw as a plain vegetable. Use sprouts with the seeds (but not the hulls) attached. If you cook sprouts, take care not to overcook them, as this will destroy their crispness. Cook them just long enough to remove the raw flavor. All sprouts (with the exception of alfalfa) are appetizing when cooked.

To sauté sprouts, place a small amount of oil in a pan and add the sprouts plus a small amount of water or Tamara sauce. Cover the pan and cook for ten minutes (son pie prefer to cook sprouts for only five to eight mi Minced onion or mushrooms browned in the oil add as do shredded carrots, turnips, and cabbage.

You can also steam sprouts or brown them in an amount of oil.

Cooked sprouts can be added to any vegetable c nation for casserole dishes and are popular in stir vegetables. They are a great addition to dress up plat ads and scrambled eggs or omelets. Add them to salad or rice, use them in sandwich spreads, or mix with soft cheese for dips. Here are some Dietary Sprouts Recipes:

A. SPROUT RECIPES SPROUT SALAD

This salad is high in all nutrients and is especially good for people with cancer, arthritis, and colon disorders. (If you have colon disorder; be sure to chew the seeds well.)

a) 1 pound mixed bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts, rinsed thoroughly

b) 1 apple or onion, chopped l stalk celery, chopped 1 cup shredded carrots

c) 1 cup shredded turnip

d) l cup shredded red cabbage1/2 cucumber, chopped 1/2 cup raisins

e) 1/2 cup sesame or sunflower seeds

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

2. Toss lightly with Good Things House Dressing (below) or any other dressing of your choice, and serve.

B. GOOD THIGNGS HOUSE DRESSIN

This is an all-purpose dressing that supplies unsaturated fatty acids. Lecithin is a wonderful brain food that is high in choline, inositol, and B vitamins. It is an emulsifier that holds muter and oil in suspension so they will not separate.

a) 3 cups apple cider or balsamic vinegar

b) 1 cup honey or 2 teaspoons barley malt sweetener

c) 1 cup water

d) 3 packages Hail's dry Italian dressing mix or 6 tablespoons dry Italian seasonings

e) 3 tablespoons minced dried onions 2 tablespoons dried parsley

f) 1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic or granules 7 tablespoon liquid lecithin

g) 11 cups expeller-pressed pure virgin olive, cannel, or other vegetable oil of your choice

1. Place all of the ingredients, except the oil, in a gallop jar. Shake well.

2. Fill the rest of the jar with oil (olive oil is the best for lowering cholesterol) and shake again. Store in the refrigerator and shake before each use.

C. Areat-tastiny sandwich

This is an Areat-tastiny sandwich that is easy to make.

a) 1 1-inch thick slice cream cheese or yogurt cheese

b) ½ avocado

c) 1 piece whole-grain pocket bread or regular whole-grain bread

d) 1 onion, sliced 1 tomato, sliced

e) 1 handful alfalfa sprouts, rinsed thoroughly

1. Mash the cream cheese or yogurt cheese and the avocado together.

2. Spread the cheese mixture in pocket bread or on sliced bread. Top with the onion, tomato, and sprouts, and serve.

Filling up with fiber, Fiber is Good for your Health

Looking for quick and easy ways to add fiber to your diet? Try some of these delicious tips:

For a side dish, have 1/2 cup of any one of the following: lentils (5 grams), cooked dried beans (7 grams), cooked whole grains, such as wheat berries (2 grams) or cracked wheat (3 grams). Mix it with '/2 cup of one of these vegetables: peas (3 grams), green beans (2 grams), or spinach (1 gram).

Make an opened-face sandwich with a sliced tomato (1 gram) and a slice of whole grain toast (2 grams). Top it with 1 ounce of low-fat mozzarella.

Select your cereals wisely. You have tons of high-fiber cereals to choose from now some offering up to 10 grams per serving. Look for cereals that provide at least 2 grams of fiber per serving.

Reach for fiber-rich fruits and think of them as ingredients, not just as snacks - especially a pear (4 grams), an apple (3 grams), a couple of figs (3 grams), 1 cup of strawberries (3 grams), or a banana (2 grams). Add them to salads, cereal, and yogurt or use them as a topping for pancakes and waffles.

Make short-grain brown rice a staple (4 grams of fiber per cup). It has a rich, nutty flavor and tastes much better than the long grain variety. If you can't find it at your local supermarket, check health food stores or Asian supermarkets.

Sneak vegetables in wherever you can - pizza, soups, stir-fries, rice, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. The sky's the limit!

A surprising source of soluble fiber is reduced-fat foods. The guar gum that many reduced-fat foods contain in place of fats is soluble fiber. Caution: This doesn't give you license to replace fresh produce and whole grain products with faux fats, but they do contribute a marginal amount of healthful fiber. For example, one piece of a brandname fat-free chocolate loaf cake contains 1 gram of fiber, as does one fat-free oatmeal cookie, a full-fat one contains only 1/2 gram. Surprisingly, even 2 tablespoons of fat-free ranch dressing has1/2 gram of fiber.

Ten Ways to Cut Calories

Reading food labels

• Eating measured portions slowly from plates
• Employing healthy cooking techniques

A food's fat content is important, but when it comes to weight loss, total calories are more important. So many of the lowfat products on the market aren't calorie reduced. For example, 2 tablespoons of reduced-fat peanut butter have the same number of calories as the regular kind. And replacing a tablespoon of butter on a bagel with 2 tablespoons of jelly eliminates the fat but doesn't change the number of calories. In this chapter, you can find some calorie-cutting tricks to live by.

Paying Attention to the Nutrition Facts

Seemingly healthy foods can be surprising sources of calories and fat, so make sure to check out the details on the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label. A container of ramen noodles, for example, packs 15 grams of fat and 400 calories; a bran muffin can top 10 grams of fat and 250 calories. Portion sizes can be deceptively small, too. A serving of sugar-sweetened iced tea contains 60 calories, but each bottle often contains two servings. And a serving of ice cream or other frozen dessert is a skimpy %z cup.

Limiting Alcohol

Alcohol, although fat-free, delivers 7 calories per gram or about 70 calories per ounce (2 tablespoons). The higher the proof, the more calories alcohol has: 80-proof alcohol averages 65 calories per ounce, and 100-proof alcohol comes in at 85 calories per ounce. The average light beer or 5-ounce glass of wine contains about 100 calories. A typical regular beer has about 150 calories. And don't forget, usually the nibbles served with alcohol are high in calories.In addition to the calorie wallop, alcohol whittles away your resolve to stay in control of your eating. And any cardiac benefits you may derive from drinking, such as that seen in men who drink a daily glass of red wine, are not nearly as important as those you derive from weight loss and exercise.

Switching to Smatter Plates

Serve yourself on a salad-size plate, about 8 inches in diameter, rather than on a dinner plate, which is typically 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Your portion sizes will be closer to those suggested in the Food Guide Pyramid (see Chapter 9) and more in tune with the number of calories you should be eating.

Asking for the Kid Size

It may seem like a bargain, but is an extra 240 calories for 39 cents really a good way to spend your calorie budget? That's the difference between a small order of fries and a large one. Kid-size popcorn at most movie theaters contains 150 calories, but a large size can top 1,000 without the butter-flavored topping. A child-size soda (8 ounces) has about 95 calories; a large soda measuring 36 ounces or more contains at least 400.

Eating Proper Portion Sizes

Nibbling from packages of crackers and shaving "tastes" from the brownie pan or forkfuls of cake from the platter can add up to plenty of calories and more than you think you've eaten. Portion out everything you eat onto a plate or into a small bowl and put the package or pan away.

Use measuring cups and spoons to portion out a serving onto your dinnerware. Study and memorize how it looks. What does %z cup of ice cream look like in your dessert dishes? One cup of whole-wheat cereal in your breakfast bowl? One cup of pasta on your dinner plate? Five ounces of wine in your stemware? You can mark your dinnerware and glassware with a dot or dash of nail polish to remind yourself. If you have oversized dinnerware, use the salad or dessert plates. You may even consider buying a luncheon set, which has smaller plates.

Dining in the Dining Room

When you bring plates to the table already filled, you won't be tempted to pick from serving bowls and platters in front of you. You're also forced to go out of your way for seconds and thus have the chance to reconsider. An added benefit: Because you don't have to dirty serving bowls and platters, you have fewer dishes to wash.

Eating Slowly

Your brain takes a full 20 minutes to register the fact that your stomach is full. Try putting your fork down and taking a sip of water between bites. Chew your food well and don't load up your fork or spoon until you swallow what's in your mouth. Doing so enables you to more easily recognize when you're full.

Filing Up on Plant Food

Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains without butter, dressings, or sauces take up stomach space, leaving less room for denser, high-calorie foods. They also take more time to chew and eat. Consider the fact that a teeny little pat of butter has as many calories as 3 cups of broccoli or that a 1-inch cube (1 ounce) of cheddar cheese has the same number of calories as 1 cup - that's 8 ounces - of bran flakes.

Switching to Low fat Dairy Products

Dairy is one place where going with the reduced-fat, lowfat, or fat-free variety makes sense, because the calories are significantly reduced in the lowfat version. For example, an 8-ounce glass of whole milk contains 150 calories, but the same amount of fat-free (skim) milk has only 85. One ounce of regular cheddar cheese has 114 calories, but reduced-fat and lowfat varieties contain 80 and 49 calories, respectively.

Note one exception, however: Dairy products, such as ice cream and flavored yogurt that are marketed as reduced-fat, lowfat, or fat-free often contain added sugar to make up for the loss of flavor and texture that fat provides. Don't be fooled into thinking that they provide fewer calories, too. Always check the calorie content on the Nutrition Facts panel of the food label.

Remembering That Duff Is Better

Not dull as in boring, but dull as in not shiny. At the salad bar, shiny means a thick coating of oily (high-calorie) salad dressing. Vegetables that shimmer usually have butter added to them. Muffins that leave a grease slick on your napkin have more calories than ones that don't. Bread or rolls that are slick with butter. .. you get the idea.

Cooking Meats with Methods That

Broil, barbecue, bake (on a rack), or braise meats, and you save many calories over frying, sautéing, and stewing, because the fat (and therefore its calories) has a chance to drip away from the meat.

Cooking chicken and other poultry with the skin on and removing it after it's been cooked is fine, because the meat absorbs little of the fat but stays moist.